


I've Got Your Six

by fallenangel218



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, Gen, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-20
Updated: 2015-09-20
Packaged: 2018-04-22 11:52:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,935
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4834319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenangel218/pseuds/fallenangel218
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A routine murder investigation takes a disastrous turn, and Gibbs and Tim find themselves in grave danger. Rated T for violence and language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

Tim tapped his fingers on his desk impatiently as he waited for a search to run. The team had been working for days to find Corporal Reese's killer, and every lead turned into a dead end. Gibbs was on everyone's ass to find  _something._ Tim had been searching Reese's phone records, e-mail and credit card statements for hours, with no result. There didn't seem to be anything to find that would indicate Reese was doing anything illegal.

"McGee!"

Tim winced when he heard Gibbs shout his name from across the bullpen as he came down from Vance's office. Gibbs was going to kill him if something didn't pop up in the next 10 seconds.

"Do you have anything for me yet, McGee?"

"N-no Boss. Nothing in his e-mail or—" Tim was silenced by a head slap.

"Stop stammering and find me something."

"Yes Boss."

Gibbs turned to his SFA, who appeared to be hard at work, for once.

"Anything on that BOLO, DiNozzo?"

"Nothing yet, Boss."

"Does anyone have  _anything_ on this guy?" Gibbs shouted in frustration.

"Gibbs!" he turned around to see Abby's face on the plasma. She wasn't smiling back at him.

"You'd better have something for me, Abbs," he growled.

"I have a match from the print I lifted from Reese's jacket."

"Who is it, Abbs!" Gibbs shouted impatiently.

"Petty Officer Joseph Bonifacio. I'm e-mailing the address to Tim right now."

Gibbs switched off the plasma and turned to Tim, who was writing furiously on a sticky note.

"Got it, Boss!" Tim said, holding up the sticky note. Gibbs snatched it from him.

"Tony! Take Ziva and go pick up Bonifacio."

"On it, Boss."

McGee's computer finally beeped, and his eyes went wide.

"Uh, Boss…"

"What is it, McGee?" he asked irritably.

"You need to see this."

"Spit it out!"

"I found something in Reese's phone records. There were some calls made from his landline to Bonifacio."

"What are you saying, McGee?"

"The calls were made before and  _after_ Reese's murder."

Gibbs quickly moved to his desk and grabbed his weapon and gear.

"Let's go, McGee. You and I are going to have a talk with Lanette Reese."

McGee jumped up and grabbed his gear, running to follow Gibbs into the elevator.

**NCISNCISNCIS**

The ride to the Reese residence was awkward. Tim didn't say a word. He sat there, going through the phone records he'd printed out. Normally, Gibbs didn't mind the quiet drive, but his Junior Agent's silence was starting to bother him.

"Something wrong, McGee?"

"No," Tim replied, not taking his eyes from his papers.

"You haven't talked at all since we left NCIS."

"Just going through the phone records, Boss."

"You did that earlier, on your computer, when you read them to me."

"Nothing's wrong, Boss. I'm fine."

"All right," Gibbs conceded as he pulled up to the curb in front of the Reese residence. "We're here, McGee." Tim got out of the car ahead of Gibbs, folder in hand. Gibbs met him in front of the walk. "Slow down. We're questioning her, not arresting her."

Tim stopped and let Gibbs walk ahead of him. As they approached the front door, they heard a scream from inside the house. Gibbs drew his weapon, and Tim followed suit. "Go around back," Gibbs ordered. Tim slipped around the back of the house, and Gibbs stealthily made his way to the front door. He noticed that the doorjamb was already splintered. Someone had already broken the door. He quietly pushed it open and went inside. He immediately went left toward the living room. He stopped short and peered in at an angle where he wouldn't be seen. He saw several armed men, and a scared Lanette Reese was sitting on the couch, trembling. He then wondered where McGee was. He was going to need his backup to make this bust. As started to back up a bit, to be completely out of sight, he heard the sound of a click behind his head.

"Drop it."

Gibbs set his weapon on the ground. The man pulled him to his feet, and he felt the gun touch the back of his neck.

"Move." He pushed Gibbs forward. Gibbs walked into the living room, hands raised. The gun was still touching his neck. One of the men turned around as they entered.

"I found another one, Boss."

The man walked up to Gibbs, looking him up and down. He signaled to his other men.

"Search him."

As the men moved to search Gibbs, he saw Tim. He was on his knees in front of the fireplace, trembling. Tim's hands were handcuffed behind his back. The remaining two men had their guns pointed at him. Gibbs moved forward to help his comrade, but strong arms grabbed him and pulled him back. The gun was back on his neck again.

"Try that again and you won't live long enough to get across the room."

Gibbs allowed himself to be searched. They relieved him of his knife, and the backup gun he kept in an ankle holster. They also found his badge. The weapons were removed from the room, and Gibbs was yanked forward, to the middle of the room.

"Agent Gibbs," the leader said, tucking the badge into the inside pocket of his blazer. "I am Carmine Bonifacio. I trust you know who I am?"

"Yep."

"Would you like to tell me why you're here?"

Gibbs remained silent, but was definitely a little panicked. They were dealing with Mafia, and they were probably going to die in this house.

"I asked you a question," Carmine said, as the gun on Gibbs' was shoved harder into his neck. "You can answer it, or I can shoot your partner." He pointed a gun at Tim's face. Tim squinted his eyes shut, quivering. 

Gibbs said nothing. He let his eyes wander toward Lanette. Carmine picked up the nonverbal cue and smiled.

"You're here for her?"

"Yep," Gibbs said simply.

"She's not leaving this house alive, and neither are you and your partner." He nodded to one of his men. Before anyone could react, he turned his gun on Lanette and fired. She fell limp to the couch.

"No!" Tim shouted, and attempted to get up. He was forced roughly back to his knees.

"No one told you to move."

Tim nodded, and his eyes met with Gibbs' icy glare. He knew Gibbs was telling him to sit there and shut up.

"Agent Gibbs, please sit down." The men roughly shoved Gibbs down onto the love seat. They cuffed Gibbs with his own handcuffs. Camine took a seat in a plush arm chair next to the love seat. "We need to chat, Agent."

"I'm not going anywhere," Gibbs said sarcastically.

"You and your partner are very lucky, Agent Gibbs. In any other circumstance, both of you would have been dead the minute you set foot in this house. The only reason you are alive is because I need something from you."

"What is that?" Gibbs asked.

"My nephew. Joey Bonifacio."

"He's a murderer," Tim said from across the room. That earned him the butt of a pistol across his face. Carmine got up and went over to Tim. He grabbed him by the shirt and pointed a gun in his face.

"You talk out of turn again, young man, and you will die faster than Mrs. Reese. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

Carmine hit him.

"That isn't polite."

"Y-yes sir."

"Much better."

Carmine turned back to Gibbs.

"Agent Gibbs, your people arrested my nephew. I want him released within the hour."

"Your nephew killed a Marine."

"What proof do you have?" Carmine asked.

"We have proof. Wouldn't have arrested him without it."

Carmine took a cell phone – Gibbs' cell phone – from his pocket, and opened it up.

"Agent Gibbs, you will call your immediate superior at NCIS, and negotiate my nephew's release. If you do not, I will have Frankie shoot your partner in the head." He nodded to Frankie, who pressed a pistol into Tim's head. Gibbs looked at Tim, and reached out for his phone. He dialed Vance's office number. His secretary picked up.

"Paula, this is Gibbs. I need to speak with Director Vance."

_"Just a moment, Agent Gibbs. I'll patch you through."_

"Thank you."

Carmine grabbed the phone before Gibbs could open his mouth again. Vance had just picked up the line.

_"Jethro? What's the matter? Where the hell are you?"_

"Director Vance, I presume?"

_"Who is this?"_

"My name is Carmine Bonifacio. I believe you have something that belongs to me. I'd like him back."

_"You want Joey Bonifacio."_

"Correct, Director. I'll let Agent Gibbs explain." Carmine handed the phone back to Gibbs.

"Leon, if you don't release Joey Bonifacio, they'll kill us."

_"You know the policy, Agent Gibbs. We do not negotiate—"_

"Damn it, Leon! We're not talking about terrorists! We're dealing with the Mafia! The chances of McGee and I getting out of this alive are already slim to none. Do you really want to lower those chances?"

_"McGee is with you?"_

"Yes!"

_"Calm down, Jethro. I'll get you out of there alive."_

"Good."

Carmine snatched the phone from him.

"You have one hour, Director Vance. If I don't see my nephew in that time frame, one of your Agents will die." Carmine hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

"Your Director had better come through, Agent Gibbs, if he wants to see you and Agent McGee alive."

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

As soon as the line disconnected, Vance got up and went out to the balcony overlooking the bullpen. Ziva was on the telephone, arguing with someone in another language. Tony was typing something.

"DiNozzo!" He shouted. The SFA looked up and locked eyes with the Director. "You and David report to my office immediately."

Tony nodded and got up from his desk. He stopped at Ziva's desk and said something toher. She hung up the phone after a few colorful Hebrew words, and followed Tony. They bumped into Abby as they got to the top of the stairs.

"What's going on, guys? Vance called me up here on the double!"

"I'm not sure, Abbs," Tony said. They went into Vance's office, and the secretary waved them in. Vance was leaning on the edge of his desk when they arrived.

"We have a problem," he said immediately.

"What's going on?" Tony asked, concerned.

"Agents Gibbs and McGee are being held hostage by Carmine Bonifacio. The man you took into custody today is his nephew."

Tony's eyes went wide. He knew they were dealing with Mafia, and he knew exactly what Bonifacio wanted.

"Let me guess, he wants us to release Joey, or he'll start shooting."

"Right. We have an hour before he shoots either one of them, so we need to move fast."

"You are not going to release Joey Bonifacio, are you, Director?" Ziva asked.

"I don't plan on releasing him, Agent David. Our goal is to find out where they are and get our Agents out of there. I'm not negotiating with the Mafia."

"All due respect, Director, but I've dealt with the Mafia before," Tony said. "They won't hesitate to kill them, whether or not we bring them Joey."

"That's why we're bringing backup. Ms. Sciuto," Vance said, turning to Abby. "I want you to get downstairs and try to track Agent Gibbs' cell phone. I'm going off the assumption that Carmine did not turn it off when he hung up on me. If you can't trace Gibbs' phone, try McGee's."

"I'll do whatever I can to get them back here safe, Director." She turned and ran out of the office to start her trace.

"DiNozzo, I want you to organize a rescue team with Agent Balboa. We're going to need more than the two of you to take these guys down. David, get as much intel on Carmine Bonifacio as you can. I want to move as soon as Ms. Sciuto has a location."

"Yes, Director," Ziva said. Tony nodded and they both left Vance's office. Vance walked

around his desk and sank down into his chair. He only hoped he was moving fast enough.

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

For a while, the room was silent. Gibbs and Carmine just stared at each other. Tim was still on the floor, on his knees. The silence was starting to bother him after twenty minutes. As he wondered silently what was going to happen next, Carmine reached into his pocket and produced the cell phone again. He reached across to Gibbs.

"It's time we check in with your Director," he said. Tim felt a gun push into the back of hisneck, and closed his eyes for a brief moment. If he was going to die, he wanted to see Abby's face one more time. He could always count on her to comfort him. He felt himself smile as an image of Abby in her lab danced around in his head. His vision was short lived. The gun disappeared from the back of his neck, and he felt it impact with the side of his head. His eyes snapped open, and he found himself lying on the ground. Two sets of hands dragged him back to his knees. Gibbs was still on the phone.

"He's still working on it," Gibbs relayed to Carmine. "I—" Carmine grabbed the phone from Gibbs.

"Director Vance, I am a patient man, but you fail to understand the seriousness of what will happen to your agents if you don't comply."

_"It takes time to get a prisoner released, Mr. Bonifacio. I have people working on this as we speak."_

"Allow me to hurry you along, Director."

Carmine nodded to Frankie. He took out his pistol and fired at McGee. The bullet hit him in the shoulder, and he screamed and fell to the floor.

"Pick him up before he ruins the rug," Carmine said. Tim was dragged back to his knees in agony. Gibbs tried to stand, but was shoved back down. He could faintly hear Vance shouting into the phone. Carmine put the phone back to his ear.

"The next shot I fire at Agent McGee will be fatal, Director. You now have 35 minutes to release my nephew and bring him to me." He closed the phone and put it back into his pocket. He turned to Gibbs, who was being held down by two men to keep him from getting up.

"It would be beneficial for you to stay seated, Agent Gibbs."

"How about I shove my foot up your ass instead?" Gibbs shot back. Carmine picked up his gun and approached Gibbs. He leaned down and put his gun under Gibbs' chin.

"Don't make me regret keeping you alive, Agent Gibbs. I won't hestitate to kill you ahead of schedule." He hit Gibbs in the face with his gun, and moved away from him to the middle of the room. "Since we're going to be waiting a while, why don't we play a game?"

"What?" Gibbs asked.

Carmine moved toward Tim and cocked his gun. Tim was sagging to the floor on his knees, overwhelmed with the pain in his shoulder.

"Agent McGee," he said, grabbing Tim by the hair and yanking his head up to look at him. "When you arrived with Agent Gibbs, you were holding a file folder. You're going to tell me what was in it, and where you hid it." He released Tim's head, and he fell forward. Tim found the strength to push himself back up to his knees.

"What folder?"

"McGee!" Gibbs shouted, unable to keep quiet any longer. Tim shot a look at Gibbs. He knew what he was doing. Gibbs received another bruise on his face. Carmine fired his gun at the floor in front of Tim. He flinched, but held his ground.

"Don't screw with me, Agent McGee. I know you are lying. Here's the game. You tell me where your folder is, and what's in it, Mario won't shoot Agent Gibbs in the head." He nodded to Mario, who pushed his gun into the side of Gibbs' head.

"I—I—" McGee started, then stopped himself.  _This is NOT the time to stutter!_ He thought. The bravado from before melted away. "I dropped it in the backyard. It's got phone records in it."

"And who made those calls, Agent McGee?" Carmine put the gun dangerously close to Tim's head. Tim closed his eyes for a brief moment as the pain in his shoulder worsened. He suddenly felt the gun touch the side of his head, and his eyes shot open. "I'm waiting, Agent McGee."

"J-Joey. Joey Bonifacio. To this house." Tim dropped his head. He was ashamed that he'd broken so quickly.

"Thank you, Agent McGee. You have been most helpful." Carmine nodded to Mario. The sidekick lowered his gun to Gibbs' thigh and pulled the trigger. Gibbs nearly doubled over. Tim was on his feet in seconds.

"Boss!" Before he could take a step, two sets of hands grabbed him and forced him back to his knees, hard. "You bastard… you said you wouldn't shoot him if I told you…"

"On the contrary, Agent McGee… I said I wouldn't shoot him in the head."

Tim tried to stand again, but the hands forced him to stay on his knees.

"How about another game?" Carmine asked. "Every time you try to get up off your knees, Mario will put a bullet into Agent Gibbs."

Tim stopped struggling. It was a useless thing to do.

"Good choice, Agent McGee."

Tim dropped his head as tears slipped down his cheeks. They were going to die.

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

"David," Vance called as he jogged down the stairs. "How's that intel coming?"

"Carmine Bonifacio has several businesses in the DC area, all seem legitimate." As she put up a visual on the plasma, Tony and Balboa came into the bullpen.

"We're ready to go, Director," Tony said. "Do we know where we're going?"

As if on cue, Abby came running into the bullpen.

"I got a location from Gibbs' phone!" She announced. Tony took the paper.

"This is Lieutenant Reese's house," Tony said, a little shocked. "He's our DB."

"You three get yourselves and your team ready to go, and head over there, Do  _not_ approach the house until I give you the green light. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Director," Balboa answered. Tony rolled his eyes and followed Balboa to meet the team in the parking garage. There was 20 minutes left to get there, and Carmine was expecting his nephew to be along for the ride. They had to get this absolutely right.

**TBC…**


	3. Chapter 3

Tony and Balboa parked around the corner from the Reese home, at Tony's insistence. He didn't want to chance Carmine seeing them coming, and shoot anyone. Two agents from Balboa's team, Agents Nelson and McAvoy, were recruited for the mission.

"Vance's instructions are that we are not to engage until he gives the signal," Tony explained. "He will be pulling into the driveway with our double of Joey in five minutes. Does everyone remember their positions?"

Everyone complied, and they set off to get into position. Balboa and McAvoy would take the rear. Tony and Ziva would be in front, hiding out of sight. Nelson would be covering the side door.

Vance pulled into the driveway exactly five minutes later. He'd taken a sedan and left his driver behind, for his own safety.

"Vance is here," Nelson reported via walkie.

"I can see that, Nelson," Balboa chided. "Hold your position."

"Yes sir."

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

"He's here Boss," Mario said as he glanced out the picture window at the driveway. Carmine got up from the sofa and went over to Tim. He grabbed him by his injured arm and yanked him to his feet. Tim stifled a scream as pain tore through his shoulder. His jacket and shirt were covered in blood at the shoulder. Carmine dragged him over to the picture window and took out the cell phone. He hit redial and Vance picked up immediately.

"Bring Joey to the front door and wait. Try anything else and I will shoot Agent McGee in the head." He pointed the gun at Tim's head in front of the picture window.

**NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS**

Vance and the Joey look alike exited the sedan. Vance led him up to the front door. There was a trellace blocking his view of the front door. To make the ruse look authentic, he had his sidearm pointed at his look alike, who was actually Agent Healy from Cyber Crimes. When they were out of view of the window, Vance whispered into his ear wig.

"Rear group, approach the home but do not go in. DiNozzo, you and David hold position. He'll see you coming from the window and shoot someone." He leaned over to Healy. "When that door opens, you get out of the way, understand?"

"Yes, Director."

Vance had his gun ready. Seconds later, he heard someone unlocking the front door. As soon as it opened, Vance thrust his gun into the lackey's face.

"Move and you won't have a face," Vance threatened. The lackey dropped his gun. Vance spoke quickly into his ear wig.

"Rear and side doors, move in." he turned to Healy. "stay out here." Vance moved into the house as his teams burst into the living room. Vance led the lackey at gunpoint into the living room. Balboa and his crew already had all of Carmine's men on the ground and in cuffs. Gibbs was on the couch with blood all over his leg. Mrs. Reese was lying dead on the sofa. Vance called Tony and Ziva in. Carmine was still standing with a gun to Tim's head.

"Drop it, Carmine."

"You first, Director.

"You're outnumbered. Let him go." Tony and Ziva came in behind Carmine, guns pointed at him. Carmine didn't back down. Vance shared a knowing look with Tim. Within seconds, Tim brought up his foot and hit Carmine between the legs. Tim stumbled forward as Carmine doubled over, and Tony and Ziva made the arrest.

Vance called an ambulance and went over to help Tim over to the sofa with Gibbs.

"It's about time, Leon," Gibbs said with a small smile.

"You're welcome," Leon said with a chuckle.

Tim didn't say a word until the ambulances arrived. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. He felt as if he wasn't deserving of even talking in Gibbs' presence after the way he'd screwed up. The whole afternoon was screwed to hell. All they wanted to do was talk to Mrs. Reese. Now she was dead and Gibbs was gravely injured. He'd fallen unconscious before the ambulance arrived, and Tim was practically catatonic when the EMTs put him in the ambulance.

Thankfully, Tim's shoulder wasn't badly damaged by the bullet. He'd have to live with his arm in a sling for a couple of weeks, but he'd be fine. He didn't really have a reaction to this good news, and when his friends came to his room to visit, he sat mutely, staring at the wall. He wasn't in the mood for company, and was glad when he was finally alone. He didn't want to go back to work, and face Gibbs again. He screwed up majorly this time, and no amount of concern from his friends would make him feel better about it.

 

**TBC...**


	4. Chapter 4

**_~three weeks later~_ **

"Probie!" Tony was standing in front of Tim's desk, trying to get his attention. Tim finally looked up upon hearing Tony shout.

"What?"

"I've been standing here for ten minutes. We have a dead body at Quantico. Let's go."

"I don't want to go," Tim said blandly.

"I don't care what you want, McGee," said Gibbs as he limped into the bullpen. He was still on desk duty, and not easy to deal with. "Get your ass up and go do your job!"

Tim got up and picked up his bag. He could blow off Tony, but when Gibbs spoke, he obeyed without question.

"Yes, Boss." he glumly followed Tony and Ziva into the elevator, purposefully avoiding eye contact with Gibbs.

Tim didn't talk to anyone on the way to the crime scene. When Tony asked him to bag and tag, he reluctantly obeyed. As he carefully bagged anything he could find, he tuned out the world around him. He sought to become invisible. It was ruined when Ducky and Jimmy showed up.

"Timothy, how are you feeling, my boy?" Ducky asked as he squatted by the body to start his examination.

"I'm fine, Ducky," Tim replied automatically. He returned to a standing position with his evidence and walked away, leaving Ducky very confused.

**_NCISNCISNCIS_ **

Tim dropped all of his evidence off with Abby when they returned to the Yard. She tried to ask how he was doing but he ignored her questions. Miffed, she signed off on the evidence and he left her lab.

Gibbs was the only one in the bullpen when he got back upstairs. Tim simply went to his desk and sat down. He had some stuff to work on. Before he could start any paperwork, Gibbs shouted.

"McGee! Pull up what you have on our dead guy."

Tim irritably tapped a few keys and an image came up on the screen.

"Lieutenant Kim Li, age 26. Born in Shanghai and immigrated here with his family at age three. Grew up in Arlington, Virginia."

"Is that all, McGee?" Gibbs asked, annoyed. Tim nodded and went back to his paperwork. Tony stood up.

"Also, stationed on the  _U.S.S. Nimitz_. He was in town on leave, Boss. Current residence is unknown."

"Thank you, DiNozzo." Gibbs glared at Tim as he turned and sat back down at his desk. "You and Ziva get to the  _Nimitz_  before she leaves port and find out if he got along with his shipmates."

"Yes, Boss."

"McGee, you find out as much as you can about him, and I know you have the ability. No excuses. You ever pull that crap again I'll have your badge. Understand?"

Tim got up from his desk and unclipped his badge from his belt. He calmly walked to Gibbs' desk and set it down.

"Take it." Tim turned and walked to his desk and started to gather his things. He didn't hear Gibbs get up and come over until he felt a hand grab him by the elbow and turn him roughly around to face him. He was holding Tim's badge. He grabbed Tim's hand and slapped the badge into his palm.

"You're not quitting. I won't let you."

"I don't want to be here anymore, Boss. I'm not cut out for this place."

"Why would you think-" Gibbs paused as realization washed over him. "Is this about what happened at the Reese home?"

Tim stood there silent, but he knew Gibbs could read his face.

"Sit down," Gibbs ordered. "Now." Tim dropped his bag and sat down at his desk. "Listen to me. What happened in that house was not your fault."

"It's not? Boss, we should have protected Lanette Reese. She's dead because we failed to protect her! I failed!"

"You didn't fail, McGee! There was no way either of us could have put up a fight without getting shot. There were six armed men in that room with us. It was a futile situation."

"You were willing to just sit there and die?"

"Yes, if it came to that! Tim, part of our job is to be prepared that we might die in the line of duty. We almost did that day."

"An innocent woman  _did_  die, and we couldn't save her! Someone had to rescue  _us_!"

"Tim, we can't save everyone. We didn't expect to walk into that, and we didn't have the proper backup. We can't go back in time and do it over."

"He should have killed me instead of her. I-"

_Thwack!_

"Shut up, McGee! Don't you ever talk like that. She died because her husband got involved with the wrong people. They were going to kill her whether we showed up or not. There was  _nothing_ we could have done McGee!"

Tim started to get up, but Gibbs pushed him back down into his chair.

"Just let me quit, Boss. I'm not cut out for this."

"You're not quitting, McGee. You're a great agent, and I'm  _not_ letting you throw it all away."

"I don't want anyone else to die because of me."

"Tim, you're not going to be able to save everyone, but you shouldn't let that stop you from trying. We may not have been able to save Lanette Reese, but don't let it stop you from remembering all the good you've done, Tim. You're a good agent, and a good man."

Tim finally looked up to face Gibbs. His blue eyes weren't cold. They were filled with understanding. Tim looked down at the badge Gibbs had shoved back into his hand. He slowly slipped it into the inside pocket of his coat. Gibbs smiled and clapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting, Boss. It was out of line."

"I'll let it go this once, McGee, but don't  _ever_ pull that crap again, are we clear?"

"Clear, Boss."

"Good. Now get back to work and find me as much as you can about Lieutenant Li."

"Yes, Boss," Tim said with a small smile, and turned back to his computer. This was where he was meant to be, and with Gibbs' help, he knew that now for sure.

**_FINIS_ **


End file.
